RB Formula 1 boss Laurent Mekies has expressed his excitement for the upcoming season, stating that his team will enter with the enthusiasm of a completely new organization. Mekies, who previously served as the racing director for Ferrari, will now lead RB in a fresh chapter for the team based in Faenza. The team has rebranded from AlphaTauri to RB, and with this new identity comes high expectations as they continue to strengthen their partnership with Red Bull. Despite a slow start in 2023, the team showed improvement towards the end of the season after implementing Red Bull’s rear suspension in Singapore. This move helped them climb from the bottom of the standings to eighth place after the Abu Dhabi finale.
Mekies is optimistic about carrying this momentum into the 2024 season with their new car, the VCARB 01. He hopes that the team can learn from the World Champions and build on their recent success. Reflecting on his new role, Mekies expressed his eagerness to start fresh with RB, describing it as the birth of a new team. He acknowledged the team’s rich history and strong foundation but emphasized the importance of approaching it with a renewed mindset.
RB has made several key appointments to support Mekies and CEO Peter Bayer, who joined in 2023. Alan Permane has been appointed as Racing Director, Tim Goss as Chief Technical Officer, and Guillaume Catellani as Deputy Technical Director. Despite these changes, Mekies acknowledged that there are still areas that need improvement before the team can compete at the front of the midfield. He emphasized the importance of understanding the team’s strengths and weaknesses and working together to reinforce any areas that require attention.
Mekies stressed that the team’s goal is to see improvements across all aspects of their operations in order to achieve greater competitiveness. While he acknowledged that this may take time and could result in a challenging start to the season, he believes it is necessary to achieve their long-term targets. The team is committed to building a strong foundation that will consistently place them at the forefront of the midfield competition.
According to the Source motorsportweek.com